The 10 buzziest food crazes of 2013

Twinkies: Demise of and resurrection. (Bob Larson/Bay Area News Group Archives)

The buzziest food trends out there

We're fully engaged in that sacred, annual tradition -- no, not that one. The other one, involving endless "Top 10" recounts of the trendiest, faddiest, buzziest whatevers of the year. So without further ado, behold the Top 10 Food Crazes of 2013, based on Yahoo search data.

2. Coconut oil: If orange is the new black, then coconut oil is the new ... um ... oil.

3. Twinkies: Demise of and resurrection.

4. Ramen burger: The Cronut craze was swiftly followed by the Ramen Burger brouhaha. Created by Brooklyn's Keizo Shimamoto, the burger is exactly what it sounds like -- a beef patty sandwiched between two buns made of ramen noodles. The Ramen Burger was spotted at San Jose's Mitsuwa Marketplace last week.

5. Doritos Locos Tacos: Taco Bell never said it served authentic Mexican food, so we suppose we shouldn't be surprised by this billion-dollar invention -- a taco shell made of flavored chips. It was the brainchild of 41-year-old taco fan Todd Mills, who died of brain cancer last month. According to USA Today and NPR, Mills never made a dime on his creation -- he just thought a Doritos taco would be cool to have.

6. Kale: The trendy veggie du jour.

7. Froyo: Frozen yogurt is not new. We have no idea why everyone is searching for it.

10. Pretzel burger: Pretzel buns made this bacony riff on the burger theme highly popular. Alas, Wendy's has discontinued it -- despite Nick Lachey's performance of an epic love song based on customers' tweets.

Scratch and sniff

There's a wine guide for every taste and degree of knowledge, but master sommelier Richard Betts has just penned a "Pat the Bunny" style board book -- "The Essential Scratch and Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert" (Houghton Mifflin) -- and we're more than a tad confused. The thick cardboard pages brim with kid-friendly prose, fragrant stickers and a silvery mirror to help answer the perky question, "What's a good wine? And who decides that? Yes, you!" Here's hoping that the intended audience consists of childlike adults, not extremely precocious 5-year-olds. We're betting the sequel will be titled "T is for Terroir."